In some wireless communications systems, air link resources are divided according to a timing structure such that a recurring set of traffic segments are available on a predictable basis. In a system in which traffic scheduling is performed in a decentralized manner, it can be a challenging task to efficiently utilize the available air link traffic resources. Different types of devices may have different capabilities in regards to connections that can be concurrently supported and/or different capabilities regarding monitoring and/or tracking activity in its region. Different devices may also have different traffic needs, e.g., in terms of the amount of traffic to be communicated and/or latency considerations. In addition, at different times, the same device may have different traffic needs, e.g., as a function of time of day, applications being executed, etc. Selecting a set of fixed size traffic segments in a recurring timing structure may work well in some situations but be inefficient in other situations.
Based on the above discussion there is a need for methods and apparatus providing flexibility in allocating and/or using traffic resources. It would be beneficial if one or more new methods and apparatus were developed relating to resource use and/or allocation, which can accommodate the different device capabilities present in a communications network, while providing flexibility in efficiently scheduling and/or utilizing traffic air link resources.